Common Ground: Sleaford’s Shared Stories is a dual-site exhibition that brings local heritage to life through speculative imagining. Spanning across the Hub and Sleaford Museum, this significant show features historical exhibits and  contemporary artworks alongside brand-new commissions by artists responding to objects and archives that are rarely seen by the public.

Artists have researched the layered histories of Sleaford through the interconnected themes of education, agriculture and industry, migration, and class. By unearthing, reinterpreting, and reframing selected pieces from the Museum’s collection, the artworks challenge us to see aspects of our local heritage from different perspectives. 

Central to the project is a vital question: whose stories are left out of our local history, and how can we change this? 

Common Ground invites you to explore how collaborative creativity can unlock hidden stories, bridge communities, and inspire new ways to understand the places we share.

This exhibition takes place across two venues; we encourage you to visit both spaces to experience the full narrative.

Hub Sleaford Opening Times
Mon to Sat 10am-5pm; Sun and Bank Holidays 10am-4pm

Sleaford Museum Opening Times 
Mon 12:30-3pm; Wed 10am-3pm; Fri 10am-12:30pm; Sat 10am-3pm

To discover more about the artists and their work, scan the QR codes to explore our guide on the Bloomberg Connects app.

Commissioned artists: Emily Andersen, Andrew Bracey, Nicola Davison-Reed, Liz Kelleher, Danica Maier, Madhu Manipatruni, Harriet Plewis, Madara Vimba, Dino Zhang.

Other exhibiting artists include Phyllida Barlow, Matthew Cornford and John Beck, William Brand, Dan Coopey, Kelly Large, JMW Turner, Mary Wedd, and Karl Salsbury Wood

Credits

This exhibition has been curated by the Hub in collaboration with Sleaford Museum. A big thank you to all the artists, staff, participants and volunteers involved.

The residencies and commissions were supported through the Art Fund’s Reimagine Programme. Funding for Reimagine was made possible thanks to The Kirby Laing Foundation, Art Fund members and supporters of Art Fund’s Expanding Horizons appeal. 

The exhibition loans are supported by the Weston Loan Programme, created by the Garfield Weston Foundation and Art Fund.

Emily Andersen’s commission has been delivered through a collaboration with Lincoln Museum.

Project Assistant: Daisy Smith

Technicians: Helen Bartholomew, Billy Hughes, Craig Humpston and Emily Stollery

Design: Ashleigh Armitage

This exhibition is the second in the trilogy Sleaford: People, Place, Possibility, which focuses on our local context. It follows the exhibition Together We Are Powerful (2023) facilitated by Kate Genver, which brought together shared stories and foregrounded the power that lies in togethering.